The World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) serves as a fundamental basis for international climate research. The process represents a remarkable technical and scientific coordination effort across dozens of climate modelling centres, involving some 1 000 or more researchers.

At 05:16 UTC on 7 October 2014, the Japanese satellite Himawari-8 atop an H-IIA rocket took off from the Yoshinobu Launch Complex Pad 1 at the Tanegashima Space Centre in Japan. The launch was flawless and the satellite arrived a few weeks later at its final geostationary orbiting position 36 000 km above the equator at 140.5°E, just north of Papua New Guinea in the Western Pacific Ocean. It was the first of a new generation of satellites that would start operations in the 2015-2021 timeframe. These new meteorological satellites have enhanced observation capability that will bring benefits,...

High costs and relatively low usage are major concerns for operational meteorological satellite systems. In the early 1990s, Tillman Mohr, then Director General of the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), made a rough calculation that the operational cost of the constellation of meteorological satellites was in the order of US$ 2 million per day. However, a WMO survey conducted around the same time determined that many of its Members were not able to access and use satellite data and products in real time and were, thus, not able to reap the...

“Investments made in women and girls are great multipliers of development progress,” said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas, who recently joined the ranks of the Geneva Gender Champions with a commitment...